The first fossil record of Nandeva Wiedenbrug,Reiss & Fittkau (Diptera: Chironomidae) in early Eocene Fushun amber from China

Gi?ka, W., Zakrzewska, M., Baranov, V., Wang, B. &; Stebner, F., May 2016. The first fossil record of Nandeva Wiedenbrug, Reiss &; Fittkau (Diptera: Chironomidae) in early Eocene Fushun amber from China. Alcheringa 40, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518

The first fossil representative of the extant chironomid genus Nandeva Wiedenbrug, Reiss &; Fittkau, 1998 Wiedenbrug, S., Reiss, F. &; Fittkau, E.J., 1998. Nandeva, gen. nov., a new genus of Chironomini (Insecta, Diptera, Chironomidae). Spixiana 21, 59–68. [Google Scholar] is described based on a specimen found in early Eocene (50–53 Ma) Fushun amber from China. The adult male of Nandeva pudens sp. nov. has the long RM vein as a continuation of M and R₄₊₅, the bare squama, the strongly reduced anal area of the wing and hypopygial characters typical of extant species of the genus. Following the systematic concept based on adult male morphology and characters examinable in fossil specimens, we present N. pudens as a possible member of the Tanytarsini, arguing that Nandeva is part of this tribe or a possible sister group to the tribe. This is the first record of Nandeva from the Palaearctic region.

Wojciech Gi?ka [wojciech.gilka@biol.ug.edu.pl] University of Gdańsk, Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Parasitology, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland; Marta Zakrzewska [marta.zakrzewska@biol.ug.edu.pl] University of Gdańsk, Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Parasitology, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland; Viktor Baranov* [baranov@igb-berlin.de] Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany; Bo Wang? [bowang@nigpas.ac.cn] Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing 210008, PR China; Frauke Stebner [frauke.stebner@uni-bonn.de] University of Bonn, Steinmann-Institute, Section Palaeontology, Nussallee 8, 53115, Bonn, Germany. *Also affiliated with Humboldt University of Berlin, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Geography Department, Rudower Chaussee 16, 12489 Berlin, Germany. ?Also affiliated with Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Zoology, Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Beijing 100101, PR China.     

Researching and Writing in the Twilight of an Imagined Conquest: Anthropology in Northern Rhodesia 1930–1960

The rich corpus of material produced by the anthropologists of the Rhodes Livingstone Institute (RLI) has come to dominate our understanding of Zambian societies and Zambia's past. The RLI was primarily concerned with the socio‐cultural effects of migrant labour. The paper argues that the anthropologists of the RLI worked from within a paradigm that was dominated by the experience of colonial conquest in South Africa. RLI anthropologists transferred their understanding of colonial conquest in South Africa to the Northern Rhodesian situation, without ever truly analysing the manner in which colonial rule had come to be established in Northern Rhodesia. As such the RLI anthropologists operated within a flawed understanding of the past. The paper argues that a historical paradigm of colonial conquest that was applicable to the South African situation came to be unquestioningly applied by anthropologists to the Northern Rhodesian situation, and discusses what the consequences of this paradigm are for our understanding of Zambian history.     

Combined pollen and macrofossil data as a source for reconstructing mosaic patterns of the early medieval urban habitats – a case study from Gdańsk,N. Poland

Plant macrofossils, pollen, fungal spores and other non-pollen palynomorphs (NPPs), were analyzed in three archaeological exposures established in a small area in the oldest part of the historic city of Gdańsk. One of the aims was to investigate how precisely the combined pollen and macrofossil data may reflect the diversity of local habitats within an urban archaeological site and to compare the range of information obtained using each of the methods separately. The other aim of the study was to reconstruct the environmental conditions in the earliest occupied area of the historic centre of Gdańsk. The repeatable composition and, in many points, consistency among pollen and macrofossil data in all three profiles strongly suggest that the apparently biased structure of these fossil remains in fact reflects a mosaic pattern of the vegetation in the area of the site. The combined pollen and macrofossil data enabled separation of local elements from those transported to the site by different means. The results show that already at the beginning of the 12th c., the area was almost totally deforested, but up to the mid-13th c. the settlement organization was still relatively loose, resembling a rather rural structure with well-developed ruderal plant communities and patches of semi-natural vegetation. At the coring area, strongly eutrophic riparian vegetation was bordering patches of dry grassland on a sandy holm. The large proportion of pollen of various entomophilous plants mostly from meadows and pastures is explained as a result of the presence of dung, as confirmed by the abundances of coprophilous fungal spores. The study indicates that parallel pollen and macrofossil analysis is essential for correct interpretation of fossil assemblages. Application of both methods enables broadening of the range of remains representing various organisms and obtaining more precise tools for environmental reconstruction and better understanding of the taphonomic processes at the archaeological site.     

Human-planted alder trees as a protection against debris flows (a dendrochronological study from the Moxi Basin, Southwestern China)

Large debris flows have destroyed the infrastructure and caused the death of people living in the Moxi Basin (Sichuan Province, Southwestern China). Inhabitants of the Moxi Basin live on the flat surfaces of debris-flow fans, which are also attractive for farming. During the monsoon season debris flows are being formed above the fans. Debris flows can destroy the houses of any people living within the fan surfaces. In order to prevent the adverse effects of flows, people plant alder trees (Alnus nepalensis) at the mouths of debris flow gullies running above debris flow fans. Alders are able to capture the debris transported during flow events. Trees are well adapted to surviving in conditions of environmental stress connected with abrupt transport and deposition of sediment from debris flows. Numerous wounds, tilting and bending of alder trees caused by debris flows only very rarely cause the death of trees. By dating scars and dating the time of alder tilting (through the analysis of annual rings), we have determined the frequency of debris flows occurring at the mouth of the Daozhao valley. In 1980–2012 within the studied debris-flow fan and the Daozhao gully, 2 large debris flow events occurred (1996, 2005) and some smaller events were probably recorded every 2–3 years.     

New species of Tanyderidae (Diptera) from the Jiulongshan Formation of China

Dong, F., Shih, C.K., Skibińska, K., Krzemiński, W. & Ren, D., 10.4.2015. New species of Tanyderidae (Diptera) from the Jiulongshan Formation of China. Alcheringa 39, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518

Two new tanyderid species of Praemacrochile Kalugina, 1985 (P. dryasis, P. ovalum) and one new tanyderid species of Protanyderus Handlirsch, 1909 (P. astictum) are described and illustrated from the late Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of Daohugou in eastern Inner Mongolia, China. These species are circumscribed using well-preserved fossil specimens with bodies and complete wings. We also collected and identified new material of two species of Praemacrochile (P. ansorgei Lukashevich & Krzemiński and P. chinensis, Krzemiński & Ren) and one species of Protanyderus (P. vulcanium Zhang) from the same locality.

Fei Dong [123dongfeifei@163.com], Dong Ren [rendong@mail.cnu.edu.cn] and Chungkun Shih [chungkun.shih@gmail.com], College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Xisanhuanbeilu 105, Haidian District, Beijing, PR China 100048; Kornelia Skibińska [yukisiak@gmail.com] Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences, Krakow, Poland; Wies?aw Krzemiński [wieslawk4@gmail.com] Pedagogical University of Cracow, Faculty of Geography and Biology, Institute of Biology, ul. Podchor??ych 2, 30-084 Kraków, ma?opolskie, Poland.     

Problem areas in Poland in terms of the objectives of the European Union's regional policy

The present study focuses on problem areas in EU member states and Poland that are identified on the basis of criteria laid down in the assumptions of the EU regional policy. The analysis makes it possible to compare the spatial distributions of the problem areas and to assess the relevance of the statistical criteria employed to delineate them. Also presented is the new model of regional policy to be implemented in Poland in the period of its integration with the European Union.     

Determinants of divorce in nineteenth-century Flanders

In 1830, the year Belgium became independent, there were four divorces in Belgium. From about 1870 to 1910, there were about one hundred divorces per year, and since 1910, there have been about 1,000. The aim of this research is to investigate the factors that played a role in the increase in the number of divorces in Belgium in the course of the nineteenth century. The research relates to information from four Flemish municipalities for the period 1800-1913. Results indicate that an explanation of the rising divorce rate can be sought in the psychological and social consequences of the more pronounced shift in marriage, gender and family expectations. Increasing numbers of women threw themselves more and more into their gender-specific expressive gender role, whereas the objective opportunities and attainability of this role did not increase commensurately. The result was role strain: high marriage and family expectations soon come up against intrinsic limitations. As a result of this, both individual and general frustration increased, and this was an ideal social substratum for facilitating divorce.     

Islamic glass in the Christian Kingdom of Alwa: Chemistry of shards from Soba,Nubia, Sudan

Excavations at Soba, the capital of Alwa, between 2019 and 2022 yielded more than 30 glass fragments in addition to a glass cosmetic bottle. An analysis of 30 glass samples has identified glass belonging to a number of compositional groups. The majority of fragments were made of plant ash-soda glass produced in the Middle East (Iran, Iraq) between the 9th and 10th centuries, and in the Eastern Mediterranean (Levant and Egypt) between the mid-10th and mid-12th centuries. Seven fragments were made of mineral–soda-lime glass produced in 9th-century Egypt and three high-lead glasses find analogies in the 9th- to 11th-century glass. Archeological evidence, as well as textual sources, leave no doubt about Alwa’s intense transcultural connections. This article provides the first insight into the chemistry of glass shards from medieval Nubia, and the results of analysis contribute to evidence for long-distance contacts of Soba, the capital of one of the medieval kingdoms of Sahelian Africa.